Elizabeth A. Leib

by Elizabeth A. Leib

Mark and Jeremy and I attended Congregation Or Ahavah’s dedication ceremony today at the Jewish Community Center in memory of Rabbi Theodore Brod and in honor of Freda Brod. The dedication gave us the chance to do the last of the 613 mitzvoth, to write a Sefer Torah. We lined up to inscribe a letter on the Torah scroll and afterward JCC Director Cathy Gardner wrote in calligraphy our names on a lovely certificate commemorating the occasion.

Rabbi and Freda Brod’s Children and Grandchildren Bring in the Torah:

It was a pleasure to hear Eldra Solomon, Rabbi and Freda’s daughter, talk about the Brod legacy and of their efforts over many years to build the Tampa Jewish community. Rabbi performed my conversion almost 20 years ago and then married Mark and I thirteen years ago. We attended many of the renown Brod Passover Seders and Yom Kipper break-the-fast gatherings.

The Brod’s were generous in opening their doors to anyone who wanted to belong to the Jewish community. He will be remembered for all his hard work as will Freda. Particularly Freda is beloved for her kind and loving ways. She is a friend to the good and to the friendless alike - fulfilling the calling of a Rabbi’s wife where no one is excluded from her beneficence. She is a treasure who is much loved and appreciated by all.